Hyundai wins 2.1 bln dlr deal in Australia gas project

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 13:25

SEOUL, Oct 21, 2009 (AFP) - South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries said Wednesday it has won a 2.1-billion-dollar contract to build facilities to produce liquefied natural gas (LNG) off the coast of Western Australia.

Under the deal with energy group Chevron, Hyundai Heavy will deliver 48 modules weighing a total of 190,000 tonnes by 2013 which will be used for the massive Gorgon LNG project.

The modules will be built on Barrow Island near the gasfield to liquefy, refine and produce LNG.

Hyundai Heavy, the world's leading shipbuilder, said in a statement the deal would be its largest single contract.

Chevron, Shell and ExxonMobil last month agreed to develop the Gorgon field, spending some 43 billion Australian dollars (39.25 billion US) in the initial construction phase of the country's largest-ever resources development.

The Gorgon project, expected to begin production in 2014, is designed to be an important source of energy for Asia's burgeoning economies.

It is already supported by supply contracts with China, Japan, India and South Korea worth a combined 145 billion Australian dollars.

Chevron owns a 50 percent stake in Gorgon and will operate the plant, with ExxonMobil and Shell each holding 25 percent.